A: Yes, Appleton's wool colours are now available to buy online. Click here for our online shop.
A: Our wool comes in two weights – tapestry (4 ply) and crewel (2 ply). It also comes in over 400 colours (see Colours). The colours are the same in both weights.
Both weights are sold as either hanks (25g) or as skeins (about a sixth of a hank, with a paper label). Hanks are unlabelled and twisted; skeins come in boxes of 10 of the same colour. To give you an idea of the difference in the weights, a crewel hank is roughly 180m in length and a crewel skein about 25m. A tapestry hank on the other hand, while still being 25g in weight, is much shorter – only about 55m – as the wool is so much denser. A tapestry skein will measure around 10m in length.
A: Yes but only from a significant volume upwards; we are a wholesaler because we have already factored a volume discount into our pricing.
The colour fastness of the dyes used on our wool is rated as 5-6 on the ‘grey scale’ with the exception of the fluorescent dyes which are rated at 2-3.
Please note that we would always strongly recommend keeping dyed wool out of direct sunlight as, over time, it will always have an effect.
A: All mothproofing agent have been banned by the Environment agency due to their toxicity and harm to aquatic life. However, our dyers are currently exploring a non-toxic and safe alternative. We will let you know as soon as it is available!!
Our impact on the world – sustainability
All our wool is British from sheep to needle – it comes from the Yorkshire wool markets and is also dyed and spun in Yorkshire. The furthest it travels is from Yorkshire to Buckinghamshire before being shipped to you.
Our packaging is, with the exception of the plastic bags we wrap the hanks in for cleanliness, recyclable and in the case of the outer boxes, almost invariably already on its second or third incarnation. We have disposed of plastic bags for skeins altogether.